Bedpan



March 8, 1938.

BEDPAN Filed 001:. 26, 1936 v v /6' y f" 4 INvEfi oR lewzlsffau se-ATTORNEY L. HAUSE 1 2,110,440

30 bedding ,.5 of the receptacle bottom.

Patented Mar. 8, 1938 BEDBAN 1'- Lewis Hause, ElmhurstpNmY.

. Application October 26,

Claims.

This invention relates to bedpans and particularly an improved form ofthe commontype of bedpan. v

In using thecommon type of bedpan the bed- ;5 pan is depressed andsettles into the bedding or mattress due to the weight of the patientand the bedding or mattress is caused to bulge upwardly about the sidesand ends of the bedpan, wthus making it difficult to remove or to insert"the same. The principal object of this invention is to provide animproved-bedpan which will avoid the difiiculties present in the use ofthe common type of bedpan, and inorder to accomplish this result, thisinvention contemplates an extension or saucer-like attachment which willincrease the base area of the: bedpan-so as to 1 prevent the same fromsettling into the bedding or mattress during use without increasing the.size of the receptacle portion.

This extension or saucer-like arrangement can be incorporated into thebedpan when initially manufactured or may be added tothe common type ofbedpan by a slight modification thereby attaining the resultscontemplated herein.

25 In addition to preventing the settling of the device into the beddingor mattress during use, the instant device serves additional purposes inthat the saucer-like base extension is intended to serve as a catchbasin to prevent soiling of the and will, further, provide handlingmeans for the nurse or orderly while placing the bedpan into the bed orremoving the bedpan.

Numerous otherobjects of this invention will be readily apparent from anexamination of the 35 following specification taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective plan View;

Figure 2 is a horizontal plan view;

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the line 3-3 of Figure 2 andincludes a cross-sectional view of a mattress and a fragmentary portionof a bed spring.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, A represents the receptacleportion in the form of 45 the common type of bedpan which, per se, is

not part of this invention, and B represents the saucer-like extensionbase.

The receptacle portion, A, as shown in the drawing, has added thereto asauceror flange- 50 like extension at the base thereof indicatedgenerally by the letter B. This flange-like portion B consists of arigid metallic member secured to the base of the receptacle, A, at H],and extends outwardly therefrom substantially in the, plane The width ofthis 1936, Serial No. 107,562

'(Cla 4-'-1-1 2) Y flangewill be determined bythesize ofthe re a smallerbase since the need forthe wider fiange is not, present, but what this.invention contem- .-.plates is a flange-which added to the receptaclewi1l,. roughly, doublethe surface area of the base .of the bedpan.

-Around, theouter periphery of the fiange-like portion, B, at H, is aturned ,upportion l2. The ,purpose of. this turned upportion, I2, is. topro- .-vide a glider-likevaction,to,the-.bedpan so ,as to prevent theflange from catching into the-bedding or mattress and to provide thecatchebasinef m fect referred. to above. In addition, this turned .upportion, l2 increases the rigidity of the flange, and to, furtherincrease the rigidity thereof a bead l3 may be provided atthe upper edgeof the turned-up portion.

the patient or nurse.

To further increase the strength and rigidity of the flange-like portionB and to more firmly and rigidly secure the same to the receptacleportion A, a handle or handles l4 may be secured respectively as at l5and It to the receptacle A and the flange B. These handles may be formedin the shape shown and may be either round and hollow or fiat and of thesame material that the balance of the device is constructed of. Thehandles may be formed integrally with the flangelike portion or may besecured at l5 and I6 by means of the usual forms of fastening such asriveting, welding, brazing or the like.

To further strengthen the flange and also to assist in handling thedevice, a brace member l1 may be secured to the device similarly as thehandles. This brace member I! may be constructed in like manner as thehandles and may of course act as a handle or handling means inmanipulating the bedpan.

In Figure 3 applicant has illustrated a crosssection of his deviceshowing the condition of the bedpan with relation to the mattress andbed spring when the weight of the patient is upon the bedpan. As shownin this figure, the mattress beneath the bedpan is compressed anddepressed beneath the bedpan considerably by the weight of the patient,and the springs are also caused to be compressed. The amount ofdepression caused by the use of the instant device is obviously muchless than that caused by the weight of the patient upon the common orusual type of bedpan, since the weight of the patient when using theinstant This bead also serves ta, avoid sharpedges which might otherwiseinjure" device is distributed and spread over a greater area, thusthedepression of the mattress and underlying bed spring is appreciably lessand the bedding or mattress is not caused to extend upwardly about thesides of the bedpan, causing the'bedpan to be imbedded in a depressionin the mattress. It is a well-known fact that a bedpan is ordinarilyused when the patient has been rendered rather helpless, and it isdiflicult under these circumstances for the patient himself or even withthe assistance of his attendant to raise himself so as to permit readyremoval of the ordinary type of bedpan when the same has been depressedinto the mattress and bedding.

The bedpan constructed according to this invention consists of thereceptacle A, consisting of the top 20, sides 2|, and bottom 22, withthe saucer-like portion comprising a substantially annular flange, ashereinbeforedescribed, secured at H1, or the base of the device may be asingle portion consisting of the extension portion B and the bottomportion 22, which may be integrally formed, and have the sides 2|secured thereto at I0.

The device may be made ofhard rubber or a somewhat similar material, butit is preferably made of sheet metal with a baked enamel finish put onafter the device has been completely assembled, so as to provide aone-piece effect, increasing the strength and adding to the appearanceof the device. I 7

While the structure of the bedpan has been shown in the drawing and thesame specifically described, it will be understood that this inventionis not confined to the specific details shown and described asnumerousother changes and modifications and the full use of equivalentsmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bedpan including a receptacle portion having sides and a bottom,and a rigid flange-like member extending from said bottom substantiallyin the plane thereof.

2. A bed pan including a receptacle portion having sides and a bottom,and a substantially annular rigid portion extending from said receptacleportion substantially in the plane of said receptacle bottom to providean increased base area for preventing the device from being depressedinto a mattress while in use.

3. A bedpan including a receptacle portion having sides and a bottom, asubstantially annular rigid portion extending from said receptacleportion substantially in the plane of said receptacle bottom to providean increased base area for preventing the device from being depressedinto a mattress while in use, and a turned-up portion at the outerperiphery of said annular portion to increase the rigidity thereof andto act as a catch basin and to permit the device to be glided in and outof position. r

4. A bedpan including a receptacle portion having sides and a bottom, asubstantially annular rigid portion extending from said receptacleportion substantially in the plane of said receptacle bottom to providean increased base area for preventing the "device from being depressedinto a mattress while in use, a turnedup portion at the outer peripheryof said annular portion to increase the rigidity thereof and to act as acatch-basin and to permit the device to be glided in and out ofposition, and braces extending from the sides of said receptacle portionto the annular portion to provide additional handling means and toadditionally increase the rigidity of the said annular portion.

5. In a bedpan, a receptacle, an extension base projecting therefrom,and means on said extended base for increasing-the rigidity thereof.

LEWIS HAUSE.

